Lego Batman Is A Go! Lego Movie Batman Spinoff Set For 2017 Release

The best Batman to hit the screen in 2016 won’t be Ben Affleck; he won’t even be human. He’ll be Lego Batman, as a Batman spinoff from the wildly successful Lego Movie has been greenlit, according to a new report.

Let’s be honest: Batman v Superman could be good, but odds are it will be jam packed with cameos as Time Warner tries to beef up its DC Cinematic Universe over the course of just one movie. There’s no reason to down Ben Affleck as Batman without having seen him on the screen – well, no reason besides Daredevil… and Jersey Girl… and Gigli…

… but that’s neither here nor there. Affleck could be good, but Snyder has got an established reputation already, and it’s not exactly encouraging when you think of him setting the groundwork for the Justice League.

That doesn’t matter, though. Affleck could knock it out of the park with a Batman performance that makes Christian Bale’s look like… well… Ben Affleck in Daredevil, and it still wouldn’t hold a candle to the One True Batman of 2016: Lego Batman.

Before today, everyone assumed that the Lego movie coming out in 2016 would be a sequel to the first Lego Movie, which pulled in more than a quarter of a billion dollars this year in box office receipts. It turns out, though, that one of the best characters from The Lego Movie will be getting his own movie.

Lego Batman: The Movie will likely take apart the competition when it hits theaters in 2016. According toThe Hollywood Reporter, Lego Batman will be one of two Lego movies to hit theaters that year. The other will be Ninjago, due out September 23, 2016.

Will Arnett will be back to reprise the role of Lego Batman, returning to his parody of Christian Bale’s gravely Batman-voice from Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Lego Batman will be penned by Seth Grahame-Smith, who previously handled modern classic Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The film will be produced by Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller. Miller and Lord handled the story and screenplay duties on The Lego Movie, so it’s likely that Lego Batman will be in good hands.

As for Lego Movie 2, it looks like that inevitable blockbuster will be pushed back to 2017. Assuming star Chris Pratt returns for another go in the Legoverse, that would likely give him yet another year with two massive hits under his belt. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is also scheduled to come out in 2017.